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literature
Ersatz
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Literature Text
He has danger painted on his lips
and a terrifying truth hidden under his bed.
And I'm the only one who knows
he got a tattoo for his thirteenth birthday
that makes his skin look like it's
on fire.
You know,
girls say he's the hottest boy in ninth grade.
He's burning up.
But he doesn't care for them
because he's secretly in love with Sam
[who, obviously, doesn't have a clue].
No one does.
But how long can you keep your secrets, pseudo-boy,
before you lose yourself?
He takes a look around him
and destroys as many people as he can
so he won't be hurt
again.
and a terrifying truth hidden under his bed.
And I'm the only one who knows
he got a tattoo for his thirteenth birthday
that makes his skin look like it's
on fire.
You know,
girls say he's the hottest boy in ninth grade.
He's burning up.
But he doesn't care for them
because he's secretly in love with Sam
[who, obviously, doesn't have a clue].
No one does.
But how long can you keep your secrets, pseudo-boy,
before you lose yourself?
He takes a look around him
and destroys as many people as he can
so he won't be hurt
again.
Inspiration
It's hard to describe the inspiration for this work. I wrote it quite some time ago so I don't really remember what got me writing. I know at least part of the inspiration was a song by Manchester Orchestra called Colly Strings:
Another thing I didn't exactly come up with on my own was the "tattoo for his thirteenth birthday." I saw that in a Canadian film called Jet Boy. The boy, Nathan, gets a tattoo right at the start of the movie. Then he gets beat up, his mom overdoses and he hitchhikes across the country with what appears to be a major criminal. It's actually a great movie, believe me. Really touching.
The rest is just my imagination.
Technique
Strangely enough, the first part that I wrote was the last stanza about him hurting as many people as he can. I wrote that and then a few days later followed up with the rest of the poem.
The main reason this took a long time to write is because it was really important to me to make it ambiguous whether or not the boy is gay. I intentionally chose "Sam" – a gender-neutral name, so that it could be interpreted either way.
I panicked when my friend got a hold of this, thinking he'd judge me and assume things, but he ended up just saying he liked and he gave me a bit of advice on how to make it better.
Sometimes people are better than you expect them to be.
Special Mentions
~cherrichan13 really helped me with this one.
Groups
For #theWrittenRevolution members: Is the characterization strong enough? Are there any parts that don't work so well? How can I make it less scattered?
This was featured in *Kileandra's news article.
© 2011 Jonathon Reed
deviantART | Society6 | Tumblr
portfolio.jonathonreed.com
It's hard to describe the inspiration for this work. I wrote it quite some time ago so I don't really remember what got me writing. I know at least part of the inspiration was a song by Manchester Orchestra called Colly Strings:
A pity invitation to an awkward house,The lyric "pseudo-boy" has always intrigued me – the definition of sexuality and all that. Yeah, sadly enough, I didn't come up with that term.
For pseudo-boy who would rather wear a blouse,
I sincerely saw your skin for the very first time.
Another thing I didn't exactly come up with on my own was the "tattoo for his thirteenth birthday." I saw that in a Canadian film called Jet Boy. The boy, Nathan, gets a tattoo right at the start of the movie. Then he gets beat up, his mom overdoses and he hitchhikes across the country with what appears to be a major criminal. It's actually a great movie, believe me. Really touching.
The rest is just my imagination.
Technique
Strangely enough, the first part that I wrote was the last stanza about him hurting as many people as he can. I wrote that and then a few days later followed up with the rest of the poem.
The main reason this took a long time to write is because it was really important to me to make it ambiguous whether or not the boy is gay. I intentionally chose "Sam" – a gender-neutral name, so that it could be interpreted either way.
I panicked when my friend got a hold of this, thinking he'd judge me and assume things, but he ended up just saying he liked and he gave me a bit of advice on how to make it better.
Sometimes people are better than you expect them to be.Special Mentions
~cherrichan13 really helped me with this one.
Groups
For #theWrittenRevolution members: Is the characterization strong enough? Are there any parts that don't work so well? How can I make it less scattered?
This was featured in *Kileandra's news article.
© 2011 Jonathon Reed
deviantART | Society6 | Tumblr
portfolio.jonathonreed.com
Comments21
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Wow, I love it